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Into the Outdoors: The Opossum and Porcupine

This week, we are going to take a little look at the opossum, better known in these parts as just possum. These are truly unique little critters, and often pay visits to porches that contain cat or dog food.

To many people, possums bear a strong resemblance to rats, probably due to their bare tail. Actually, they are not really even rodents. They are marsupials, somewhat related to kangaroos. Marsupials carry their young in a pouch, where they nurse and develop. Upon venturing from the pouch, the babies ride on the mother’s back until they are able to fend for themselves. I personally find possums rather cute, especially the baby ones. Their front paws are strikingly similar to human hands. For a really cute experience, visit YouTube and search for baby opossums. There are many videos on there, and they are truly a lot of fun to watch. In the photo below, which I found on the Internet, baby possums are hitching a ride on mama’s back. If one drops off unnoticed by the mother, it will probably die.

Possums are actually pretty beneficial. They are part of nature’s clean up crew, as they are very fond of eating carrion. They are also notorious eaters of ticks. Ticks have, of course, become a huge problem, especially here in Pennsylvania. Even a little possum can hold a lot of ticks, and they love ‘em. The idea that they eat a thousand ticks in a day is, of course, a myth. They also have a certain degree of immunity to snake venom, and are even resistant to rabies.

According to my research, possums are rather popular as pets in areas where it is legal to keep them. This is not allowed in Pennsylvania. In the end, that is probably for the best. I pretty much believe that wild animals belong in the wild, as they were intended to be.

Another common, but less often seen critter in these parts is the porcupine. These guys are rodents.They are covered with sharp spines, called quills, for protection from predators. Contrary to popular folklore, they cannot throw their quills. It takes actual contact. This means that getting stuck with a batch of quills is very easy for humans to avoid. Animals, however, are not so fortunate. Back in the eighties, when I had coon hounds, every once in awhile, one of them would come back with a face, or even mouth full of porcupine quills. Birds of prey, which stupidly swoop down on a porcupine, get quilled so badly that it sometimes keeps them from flying, and they eventually die.

Needless to say, few things prey on porcupines. One notable exception, however, is foxes. They will sometimes tunnel under the snow and grab the porkies by the belly, as there are no quills there. They don’t call them sly foxes for nothing.

Porcupines love to chew on almost anything. Unfortunately, this includes such things as radiator hoses, wires, etc. on vehicles, as well as siding and shingles on houses, and other things we’d rather they leave alone. All in all though, while not cuddly, porcupines are actually okay.

Here is a piece of news from near my home in Brady’s Bend. When an old structure was torn down, the nesting site for chimney swifts, (Chaetura pelagica), was eliminated. The Game Commission is providing a tower for these neat birds. While I am no fan of the Game Commission, they are doing a good thing here.

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